Study: BadgerCare Plus improving access to health insurance - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Enrollment of children, parents and caregive relatives in the health plan rosefrom 440,0090 to 590,000 over the time period studied by the which is evaluating the program in partnership with the Wisconsin Departmenf of Health Services under a grant from the . BadgerCare Plus is the state’ds effort to expand access to health insurance for Wisconsin childrenand low- and middle-incomed families. The enrollment increase evaluated in the studhyincluded 57,000 adults and more than 92,000 children, accordingg to a press release from the Department of Healthn Services.
Children in families earninf $26,400 per year or less (under 150 percen of the federal poverty account foralmost two-thirds of the increaswe in child enrollments. The rated of enrollment as a percentage of the tota l population of children in Wisconsinn are high among poor and near poor The proportion of children enrolled inMedicaid programs, the federal-statwe health insurance for the poor, increaser from 21 percent before the launch of BadgerCare Plus to 27 percent in Septembed 2008.
In the presse release, Karen Timberlake, secretary of the Department ofHealtyh Services, attributed the increase in enrollmengt to a combination of including an initial automated searcuh for eligible children, parents and caregivers who are in othert public programs; simplified and expandedr categories for eligibility; more aggressive outreachg to the community and branding the programj as available health coveragee “for all kids;” and using community-based groups to identify and enroll eligible individuals. In the economic downturn may have led to individuals losintgprivate insurance, prompting increased participatioh in BadgerCare Plus.
“Thiss study is yet another indicatio that the BadgerCare Plus expansiojn has been agreat success,” Timberlake “More children and their families are covered and able to obtainb the health care that they need simplyg by making the program easier to applhy for and stay enrolled in.”